Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
(unranked): Rhopalocera
Family: Nymphalidae
Subfamily: Nymphalinae
Tribe: Victorinini
Genus: Siproeta
Species: S. stelenes
Binomial name: Siproeta stelenes (Linnaeus, 1758)
Introduction: The genus Siproeta comprises of 3 species - the Malachite stelenes, the green-banded superba, and the Rusty-tipped Page epaphus. All are large butterflies, with wingspans averaging 10 cms.
The beautiful Malachite is distributed from Florida and Texas, south to Peru, Argentina and Bolivia. The butterflies look particularly beautiful when seen at rest, with sunshine streaming through the translucent green windows on the wings.
Some workers consider stelenes to be a Batesian mimic of the Heliconiine Philaethria dido. The 2 species generally occupy different habitats, but their avian predators probably encounter both species fairly regularly, so the theory may have some basis.
Habitats: This is a widespread and common species found in a wide variety of habitats including lowland primary rainforest, mid-elevation cloudforest and deciduous forests, usually in the vicinity of rivers at altitudes between about 100-1200m. It is probably most commonly seen in secondary habitats, including orchards and gardens.
Lifecycle: The eggs are dark green, and laid singly on leaves of Ruellia, Justicia or Blechum, all members of the Acanthaceae. Females tend to patrol back and forth along a limited stretch of habitat, dotting their eggs about fairly randomly.
The fully grown caterpillar is dark olive in colour, with a series of whorled spikes along the back and sides. Those on the back are reddish.
The chrysalis is pale green, with the thorax and abdomen covered in minute black dots, and is suspended by the long cremaster from stems of the foodplant.
Adult behaviour: The adults nectar at Lantana and other flowers, and also feed at fallen fruit, carrion and dung. I have seen groups of Malachites feeding on decaying fallen mangos in Costa Rica, and imbibing from gravel and tarmac roads in Peru and the Venezuelan Andes. They are usually seen flying in open sunlit areas, but I have on several occasions found them roosting beneath leaves deep in primary forest.
